An unidentified man recently filmed a TSA checkpoint (below) with two cameras, one of which was strapped to his head, at the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport ... He was questioned by Atlanta police and a TSA manager, who asked him several times why he was filming, to which he replied "personal use" and "civilian oversight." ​

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After being grilled several times about his legal recording, the man was apparently shaking and was asked several times by armed officers why he was shaking. The man also showed the same female police officer his boarding pass three times.​

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Apparently frustrated by the man's knowledge of his legal rights, the TSA eventually closed down the checkpoint, but he was questioned again in another area of the airport.​

By now, everybody except TSA screeners and airport cops pretty much know we are legally allowed to video record TSA checkpoints at airports.
The policy has been clearly stated on the Transportation Security Administration website since at least 2008, which is when I first came across it, and has been modified over the years to make it shorter, clearer but, of course, to add a disclaimer that “taking photographs may also prompt airport police or a TSA official to ask what your purpose is.”
In the latest video, which was posted August 30, a man with two video cameras, including a Go Pro strapped to his head, decides to test out the policy by standing well away from a checkpoint and recording at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
At 1:30 in the video, an Atlanta cop named S. Garono marches up to him in a frantic manner and tells him he is not permitted to do so.
That begins the tired-old routine of the cops firing off questions with the citizen refusing to answer them, prompting the cop to find his refusal suspicious.
In this case, the cop immediately got on his radio to call for the FBI.
The man recording, who goes by the Youtube username OccupyFromTheNorth, began shaking, which is something cops are trained to find even more suspicious, oblivious to the fact that nervousness is a natural reaction to being confronted by gun-wielding government agents legally allowed to kill you on the spot.
I’ve found that not drinking coffee prior to the confrontation as well as eating a full meal helps with the shakes in these situations, if you’re going to purposely test out their knowledge of the policy.
Despite his nervousness, he handled it well, even though he was eventually surrounded by several cops. He never showed his identification, even though he was eventually forced to show them his boarding pass.
However, he also apparently made them nervous because they had to shut down that particular checkpoint. They eventually allowed him to leave just before 13:00 in the video.
The rest of the video probably should have edited out but there is another minor interaction with the goon wearing a business suit in the initial confrontation after he started recording another checkpoint.
We’ve seen so many of these videos over the years that you would think somebody would just print the policy off the site and post it on a wall somewhere because it would save them from a lot of Youtube embarrassment.
So let’s try to record them any chance we get because eventually it will sink through.
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